Explore Your Surroundings – My Trip to Haden Hill House

Post date: 4th November 2015

Last Sunday, my writing group and I visited Haden Hill House Museum. Haden Hill House Museum is a Victorian gentleman’s residence that is furnished in period style and surrounded by 55 acres of parkland.

The purpose of the trip was to explore a location with a connection to World War II; we are working on a World War II anthology, so we thought a trip would help inspire us. Haden Hill House was used as a refuge for evacuees and shelter during bombing raids, which makes it an ideal setting for a story.

The size of the house amazed us when we first arrived. At first we thought the house was closed, but luckily it was open and ready for us to explore its secrets. You will find yourself transported back in time when you visit this house, and it’s not difficult to imagine how it once looked. I could imagine the games the evacuees would play in this house; hide-and-seek could possibly last days.

I can’t believe that this house is so close to where I live, but I have never visited it before. Sometimes it can be hard to find inspiration, so it is good to get out and explore your surroundings. And as you can see, you don’t even need to go far to find an interesting location.

Even though my main focus was finding inspiration for my World War II stories, I couldn’t stop other ideas from popping into my head. With the house and the surrounding park, it would be an ideal location for a horror story, especially one with ghost hunters. Apparently, ghosts have been spotted in the house and on the grounds.

I think what made the day so special was that I was able to explore this house with my writing group. So if you are a writer and part of a writing group, then why not try a group visit. If you do decide to go on a trip (with a group or alone), make sure you have a notebook, pen, and camera with you so you can record the experience.

I enjoyed my trip to Haden House Museum, and it is a place I would be happy to visit again, and not just because of the yummy lemon cake.

NaNoEdMo Update: I’ve managed to rewrite two chapters of my novel. I had hoped to have six finished, but things are taking longer than expected. Never mind, I still have 26 days left. Don’t forget you can join me on this NaNoEdMo challenge here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1655484618069735/